DA lays charges against FF Plus’ Marcelle Maritz over ‘k-word’ church comment

The DA has laid criminal charges against Limpopo Freedom Front Plus leader Marcelle Maritz after she used the k-word while referring to the Afrikaans Protestant Church (APK).

The party reported Maritz, who is a member of the provincial legislature, to the South African Human Rights Commission and requested the Limpopo legislature’s ethics committee to investigate the matter after footage of Maritz referring to the APK Church as the “Church without k****rs surfaced.

In a statement, the party questioned the time stamp of the video in question.

“We note that the FF+ has stated that the video was taken five years ago. However, the time stamp on the video that was shared to us by a whistle-blower clearly shows that this video was taken in 2017 while Maritz was the Limpopo Freedom Front Plus Leader and a PR councillor in the Mogalakwena Municipality.

“The whistle-blowers confirmed that this is when the video was shot and that the allegations by Maritz are a blatant lie. The witnesses in the video will also be submitting an affidavit in this regard with the provision that their identities be protected. We will hand the affidavit over to SAPS and the SAHRC.”

The DA’s NCOP member Beyers Smit, together with the DA Limpopo provincial chairperson, Geoffrey Tshibvumo, laid their charges against Maritz on Thursday.

“We take this matter very seriously as we believe there is no place for racists in our society. Her racial utterances are abhorrent and unacceptable and we will not tolerate this behaviour in our democracy.”

When phoned for comment by the Polokwane Review, Maritz told the Review that she had been advised by her lawyers not to speak on the matter.

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